Air raids kill 13 extremists in Egypt's Sinai

At least 13 extremists were killed in overnight military air raids in Egypt's restive North Sinai province bordering Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, a security source told Xinhua on Friday.

The raids targeted the hideouts of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis extremist militant group in south of Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid cities, killing 13 and wounding six "terrorist elements," according to the source.

"Meanwhile, the land forces managed to arrest five dangerous jihadists and foil an anti-military blast attempt in south of Sheikh Zuweid," the source said.

Egypt has been suffering anti-government armed attacks that killed hundreds of police and army men since the army removed former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests. Later crackdown on Morsi's supporters left more than 1,000 people dead and thousands more arrested.

On Aug. 20, a car bomb explosion targeting a national security building in Qalioubiya province near the capital Cairo left at least 29 people injured.

Most of the anti-government attacks were claimed by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group, which has changed its name to "Sinai State" and declared loyalty to the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

Continuous massive military operations in the peninsula have killed hundreds of militants as part of the country's "war against terrorism."

Some media reports said that explosion of two explosive devices on Thursday injured six multi-national peacekeepers in North Sinai. The U.S. Defense Department said there were four Americans among them. Endit